


It Was Very Very Nice to Meet You

by Aer



Series: RobRae Week 2017 [7]
Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Day 7, F/M, First Meetings, Robrae week 2017, robrae - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-12
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-10-17 23:24:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10604448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aer/pseuds/Aer
Summary: Colleges sure have a lot of blood drives. Oh well, at least Dick gets to meet interesting people.





	

"Um. Please don't vomit on me."

Dick blinked at the deadpan voice, looking up from where he'd been determinedly staring at shoes. At some point in the last ten minutes of breathing exercises, the chair opposite from him had been filled. His gaze landed for a second on the eye catching, bright purple hair its occupant sported, before registering what had been said.

"I'm not going to vomit." He said, slightly confused. The girl across from him raised an eyebrow, as if silently calling bullshit. "And also, you're like five feet away from me." He pointed out.

Her blank expression didn't change. "I didn't want to risk it. Projectile vomit is a thing, and I have much better things to be doing today than get covered in vomit."

Dick grimaced. "Uh, you realize if I was feeling sick, that image definitely wouldn't help?" She shrugged.

"You said you weren't. You are really pale though. It's why I was concerned." She didn't _look_ concerned. In fact, her face hadn't changed at all. It was slightly disconcerting.

"Surprisingly enough, donating blood doesn't lend itself to a healthy glow." He drawled sarcastically. Maybe a bit over the top for someone he had just met, but, well. She had started it.

Much to his surprise, she had nodded as if he had made perfect sense.

They lapsed back into silence. Five minutes later, the breathing exercises still hadn't worked as well as he'd hoped, and since his cell phone was thoroughly dead, he was stuck without a way to distract himself. Except for the one other person who'd gotten herself suckered into volunteering for the vampire brigade- the Red Cross, he meant. Every time their van came to campus, he somehow found himself giving up several pints of blood to the organization. Usually without planning on it.

"So.... come here often?" Dick bit back a wince as the cheesy line left his lips. He usually just used it to get a laugh, but she didn't seem the type- and then the girl snorted, her lips twitching. Instead of speaking, she gave him quite possibly the most deadpan 'Really?' look he'd ever been graced with. He offered her a sheepish grin.

"It's my first time donating blood." She finally said aloud.

"Oh. Cool." He offered, and it was her turn to grimace, even if it was only a slight downturn of her mouth.

"Not really. There was a boy vomiting in the bushes near the entrance. Something about the smell of the blood?"

"Hence your concern." Dick completed. She nodded. It was then that he realized that despite having a surprisingly decent conversation, he still had no idea what her name was.

"I'm Dick, by the way. Dick Grayson. Nice to meet you." She blinked.

"Raven Roth." The newly identified Raven supplied.

"Raven? That's a neat name." She didn't look impressed. She probably got that a lot.

"They're my mother's favorite bird." Raven responded dully. "But I'm the one stuck with them. For the rest of my life."

Dick grinned. "You think that's bad? Try having your nickname also be a popular insult." He challenged.

"I was named for corvids." Raven deadpanned, but her lips twitched again.

"I was named Richard, but everyone calls me a slang term for male genitalia! Just because the English used to have a fascination with rhyming things!" He exclaimed.

Raven actually giggled at that. "You know a surprising amount about old English oral traditions." She observed.

"I was a curious kid that couldn't figure out how people got Dick out of Richard. They sound nothing alike." He paused. "Wait- are you implying you _do_ know about old English oral traditions?"

"I'm a literature major." She said, smile widening. He blinked.

"Ok, cool?"

"You don't need to sound so hesitant. I promise, whatever you're thinking, I've heard it before."

"Uh, I totally wasn't thinking anything bad." Dick said hurriedly. "Actually, I was just wondering how someone with such a punk hair color ended up majoring in literature?" Dick winced. He was usually smoother than this, and was totally going to blame this lapse on the blood loss.

"Firstly, I have a punk friend that would extremely offended by the idea that punks can't be intellectuals, _or_ literature majors. Secondly, it's natural."

"Bull _shit_." Dick stared.

Raven looked exasperated. "I was born with this hair color. I have baby pictures to prove it. And if the next words out of your mouth are anything to do with 'carpet', 'drapes', and 'matching', I _will_ find a way to set you on fire." She rattled off with a slightly bored air. Clearly, this was a speech she was used to.

"People seriously still use that?" Dick grimaced. He might go for the occasional cheesy line, but at least he did it to be funny. And he didn't go for the overtly sexual ones, either. That was just creepy.

" _Yes_." Raven looked entirely fed up by it, too. It was kind of adorable. Her large eyes- a purplish blue, Dick was surprised to note- were narrowed, and she looked about two seconds from puffing up like the bird she was named for. He chuckled at the thought, and she raised an imperious eyebrow.

"Something funny?"

"Just thinking how much you look like an actual raven right now. It's cute." Raven stared at him, one eyebrow slowly lifting. Only the fact that it felt like most of his blood had already been drained saved Dick from turning bright red.

"Are you always like this?" She inquired coolly.

"Only when there's a pretty girl around."

Dick would like whoever ran off with his brain-to-mouth filter to bring it back now, please. Seriously, he didn't think they took _that_ much blood, but that was the only explanation for this. He wasn't that much of a flirt, thank you very much! At least, not with people that hadn't already expressed an interest.

Raven blinked again.

"You think I'm pretty?" Her voice was soft, almost surprised.

Dick nodded. He really did, despite wishing his mouth wouldn't run away with him quite so much, and he told her as much. He left out the last about his brain to mouth filter though.

"Oh." Raven's eyes were wide, and she sounded quietly pleased, though a little disbelieving.

Dick was about to ask her about those baby pictures she'd mentioned earlier- what? Baby pictures were either adorable or hilarious, and these ones belonged to a pretty girl, so they were bound to be good- when the Red Cross nurse entered the room, unhooking first Dick and then Raven from the blood draws. As soon as he could, Dick sprung upright, stretching muscles sore from sitting for so long. Raven, while more sedate, did something similar. He felt a bit light headed, but over all pretty good, and assured the nurse this as she pressed a cotton ball to his bleeding puncture wound.

Leaving the donation area, complementary T-shirt in hand, Dick turned to Raven before she could go her own way. "So, donating blood always makes me super hungry, do you want to go get something to eat?"

"You mean, with you?"

"Yeah! It'll be my treat." Dick grinned, rubbing his head. He really did feel lightheaded, but some food should take care of that.

"Why?" Dick blinked.

"You're a blunt one." He observed.

"I don't like games."

"I can't want to talk to a pretty girl and get to know her better?" Dick asked, blinking again. Had the sun gotten covered by clouds? Everything seemed dimmer, all of a sudden. Raven's face twisted in concern.

"Are you sure you shouldn't lay down for a while?" Dick waved her off with a smile.

"Nah, donating blood always makes me a little shaky. Nothing something ridiculously sweet and sugary won't fix." He assured her. He turned to gesture at the cafe across the street. "So, what do you say? Want to-" He swayed slightly, before catching himself. "Want to grab a-"

The next thing Dick knew, he was blinking open his eyes, staring up at a beautiful face hovering above his own, backlit by the sun's glow. He smiled dreamily.

"Angel..."

"Oh great, you're hallucinating." The angel above him deadpanned. "Why does this always happen to me?"

He blinked again, the faces resolving into something more familiar at the dry tone. "Raven?" He croaked out.

"I suppose I should just be thankful you didn't vomit on me." She continued, before hearing him. "You're awake, properly now? How many fingers am I holding up?"

He squinted against the sun's light. "Two. Uh, what happened?" He tried to sit up, only for her to firmly push him back down with a warning shake of her head.

"You fainted." Raven informed him, quite matter of fact. "I couldn't catch you before you fell, so I'm trying to tell if you have a concussion from when you hit the ground. The nurse inside said that once you regained consciousness, I should take you to the campus health center. But that only works if you can actually walk to my car."

"Why you?" And not the actual trained health professional, he added in his head.

"I have a car, and she can't leave the donation room, there's more people donating and she can't leave them unattended." Raven explained. Dick nodded, grimacing as the movement made his head pound.

"So uh, should we go now?"

"Only if you can stand without collapsing again." Despite her words Raven stood and offered him a hand up. He took it, and she leaned back, leveraging her weight to bring him to his feet. Dick was impressed- she was, after all, a rather small girl compared to him.

"I'm parked over there." Raven pointed at an older car with a faded gold paint job. They made it over with a minimum of fuss, though Dick was still feeling woozy.

The drive was silent, and once she'd parked outside the health center Raven hopped out, waiting impatiently for him to join her.

Dick headed inside, Raven a silent shadow at his side- undoubtedly making sure he didn't faint again. She hung back as he checked in with the receptionist, surprised to find an appointment scheduled for him. Raven just smirked when he glanced back at her.

"Alright, Mr. Grayson, a nurse will be out in just a few moments." The woman smiled at him, handing him the forms she'd printed off. Dick smiled back at her before making his way to one of the plastic chairs positioned around the waiting room. Without prompting, Raven sat next to him, and Dick forced himself to break the silence that had grown between them.

"Hey, thanks."

Raven glanced over at him from where she'd been fiddling with her phone. "For what?" She seemed genuinely curious, much to his surprise.

"Uh, for going out of your way to get me to medical attention? And you know, not just leaving me on the pavement. Stuff like that." Dick shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Your life must have been very short on human decency if you find it necessary to express gratitude for not abandoning you while unconscious." Raven deadpanned.

"I mean, people haven't abandoned me or anything, it's just I don't think anyone would have been as calm as you about suddenly getting coopted to help out a stranger. So yeah, thanks."

Raven shrugged, a small smile on her lips. "You're welcome, I suppose."

Dick snorted a laugh. "You suppose?" He asked, voice lilting teasingly.

"It's a figure of speech." Raven rolled her eyes at him, but her smile widened slightly.

Before Dick could say anything more in the spirit of recapturing their earlier friendly banter, he heard his name being called.

"Coming!" He assured the nurse, grabbing his paperwork. "Thanks again, Raven! I'll see you around!" She would probably be gone by the time he finished getting checked over, after all she had agreed to get him to medical attention, not stick around. They were still mostly strangers, after all. Dick ignored the pang of disappointment at the thought of not seeing her again.

An hour later, Dick had been pronounced mostly fit, diagnosed with dehydration and a mild concussion, and sent on his way with instructions to drink lots of water, get lots of rest, and to avoid operating heavy machinery for a few days to make sure he didn't have another, even more ill-timed fainting spell.

Walking back to the waiting room, he sighed and got ready to call his roommate and beg the man for a ride. Some days, living off campus could be such a pain. Giving a cheerful good bye to the receptionist, Dick blinked, pausing. A familiar head of purple hair was bent over a book, its owner perched in the same chair she'd been in before.

"Raven? What are you still doing here?"

"Waiting for you." Raven's eyes were flat, as if to suggest he was an idiot for even wondering.

"Ok, but why?"

"You promised me something to eat earlier. I intended to make sure you delivered. Besides, you still need a ride, right?" Raven stuffed the book into her backpack and stood.

Dick blinked. "How'd you know? About the ride, I mean."

"Let's just say this isn't my first run in with a head injury." Her dry tone of voice implied several interesting stories behind _that_ statement.

"Tell me about them over dinner?" Dick asked, grinning.

"Only if you're asking me out on a date. I don't tell those stories to just anyone." Raven was smiling as she said it, and Dick beamed.

"Well, I was gonna wait a bit before asking you out, pay you back for hauling me over here first, but I'd be more than happy to call it a date instead." Dick offered, and she nodded, smile growing.

"Then I have some stories for you." Raven said, slinging her backpack over her shoulder.

"Lead the way! And I'd also love to see those baby pictures you mentioned." Dick teased, remembering her comment.

"Baby pictures are at least third date material." Raven deadpanned, mouth twitching in a smirk as she strode back to her car.

"Guess I'll just have to ask you out again." Dick grinned. Raven snorted.

"Let's see how tonight goes first." She drawled.

Dick just grinned wider. He had a feeling that tonight was going to go just fine.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed and you love RobRae, please come scream about it with me on [tumblr](http://airilymusing.tumblr.com)!


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